To examine the problem of widening gaps in reading achievement between initially low-achieving children and other students as they move through elementary school, the authors first reviewed the literature on school effectiveness. Using a form of systems analysis called "system dynamics," they formulated a model and a set of hypotheses…

This paper reports on research conducted to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the achievement test scores of students who enter first grade as 5-year-olds, and those who enter first grade as 6-year-olds. Ex post facto research was conducted on 3 samples of students (17,000 from 1st grades, 17,500 from 4th…

This is the first of three volumes that constitute the final evaluation report of Project STAR (State Technical Assistance Resources), an undertaking of the Maryland State Department of Education designed to help 36 elementary schools improve their reading programs. This volume is essentially descriptive and is divided into seven parts. The first…

The feasibility of constructing composite scores which will yield pretest measures having all the properties required by the special regression model is explored as an alternative to the single pretest score usually used in student selection for Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I compensatory education programs. Reading data, including…

TWO PILOT STUDIES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENT CHARACTERISTICS AND THE READING ACHIEVEMENT OF THEIR CHILDREN ARE REPORTED. THE FIRST STUDY COMPARED THE BEHAVIOR OF MOTHERS OF HIGH AND LOW VERBAL GIRLS IN TWO SEMISTRUCTURED INTERACTION SITUATIONS. TEN HIGH VERBAL AND 10 LOW VERBAL GIRLS WERE SELECTED FOR STUDY ON THE BASIS OF SCORES ON THE…

A COMPARISON WAS MADE OF FOUR DIFFERENT METHODS OF TEACHING BEGINNING READING. THE PROGRAMS STUDIED WERE (1) AN ECLECTIC, "WHOLE WORD" READING PROGRAM PRESENTED IN SCOTT, FORESMAN PUBLICATIONS, (2) A "PHONIC" READING PROGRAM PUBLISHED BY J.B. LIPPINCOTT, (3) A COMBINATION ECLECTIC, "WHOLE WORD - PHONIC" READING…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 49 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: reading instruction for elementary school children, the significance of the teacher or teacher aide in reading instruction, reading achievement, reading…

Designed to develop over five years a model bilingual program for nursery school through grade 6, the demonstration program provided early bilingual education intervention to facilitate the simultaneous learning of two languages and thus develop the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills of children with limited English speaking ability from…

Research indicates that boys perform better on mathematics tests while girls perform better on reading tests. An investigation of why boys' and girls' performance differs was made by coding teacher interactions with second grade students during reading and mathematics instruction. Results reveal that teachers: made relatively more academic contact…

One educational innovation that is having a widespread and disproportionate impact on the gap in academic achievement between African-American and Latino children and their White peers is Success for All (SFA), a comprehensive reform model for elementary schools piloted in Baltimore in 1987. SFA, a whole-school reform model that focuses primarily…

Sharing the wisdom of educators throughout Colorado in implementing the Colorado Basic Literacy Act, this book is intended to be a practical complement to teachers' repertoire. It offers ideas for immediate implementation, along with citations of current research and references, and represents the best ways to respond to the needs of struggling…

The Canadian Readiness Test Learning Rate subtest and the Auditory Reception and Spatial Relations Concepts subtests on the Experimental Reading Readiness Test show high reliability in measuring the reading readiness of beginning first graders. The Experimental Test has a high coefficient of reliability as a total test. (SB)

Discusses some current concepts of the laterality/reading relationship. An overview of Samuel T. Orton's hypotheses of cerebral dominance and "strephosymbolia" is provided, and both visual half-field and dichotic listening studies as direct, empirical tests of laterality are discussed. (MKM)

Discusses the International Survey on Reading Abilities in Primary School (IGLU) and its data on achievement in reading, mathematics, and natural science. Compares this data to that collected by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Identifies achievement relevant correlations such as gender, migration background, socioeconomic…

Results from 197 elementary school students (97 males and 100 females) aged 6, 7, and 8 years from New Zealand suggest that only poor and younger average readers clearly read better in context than in lists. Good readers, even when younger, seem to be less reliant on context clues. (SLD)